Instructors

Dr. Elizabeth Hénaff is a computational biologist and designer. At the center of her research is a fascination with the way living beings interact with their environment. This inquiry has produced a body of work that ranges from scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, to collaborations with landscape architects, to artist residencies in environments from SVA to the MIT Media Lab.

She has made contributions to understanding how plants respond to the force of gravity, how genome structure changes in response to stress, and most recently has turned her attention to the ubiquitous and invisible microbial component of our environment. Some recent highlights include the design for the bioremediation of a local toxic Superfund site which won a design competition, had a gallery exhibit, and a scientific publication.

Her academic trajectory started with a Bachelors in Computer Science, followed by a Master’s in Plant Biology (both from UT Austin) and a PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of Barcelona, followed by postdoctoral work at Weill Cornell Medicine and the MIT Media Lab. More information can be found at elizabeth-henaff.net

Chris Woebken (DE) is a designer, researcher, and educator living and working in Brooklyn. Chris teaches at the School of Visual Arts and he co-founded the Extrapolation Factory, a studio developing experimental methods for collaboratively prototyping, experiencing, and impacting future scenarios. Chris's work was awarded the Core77 Design Award in the Speculative Design category, got nominated for the Design Museum’s Designs of the Year award, and received the NYFA Fellowship in Digital/Electronic Arts. Chris's work has been exhibited at MoMA in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Design Museum in London. Chris holds an MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art in London. More information can be found at chriswoebken.com